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Sunday, April 3, 2016

28) A Fatal Chapter by Lorna Barrett

The Blurb :

While out walking Sarge, her sister’s bichon frise, Tricia is led by the agitated dog to a man lying in a gazebo. She’s startled when she recognizes Pete Renquist, the president of the Stoneham Historical Society, who appears to be suffering from cardiac arrest. When Pete later dies in the hospital, the discovery of a suspicious bruise and a puncture mark on his arm suggests he may have been murdered.

Haunted by Pete’s enigmatic last words to her, Tricia begins to consider who had a motive to kill her friend. Did Pete take his flirting too far, only to have a jealous husband teach him a lesson? Or did he discover something in the town’s historical records that his killer wanted kept secret? Tricia is determined to get to the bottom of things before someone else becomes history…

My Thoughts :

The Booktown Mysteries have been a joy to read and I was really looking forward to reading the latest installment after reading the previous eight books practically one after the other. However A Fatal Chapter wasn't the best of the series so far and wasn't up to the usual standards. Maybe it was the lack of the Bookstore or it could have been the not so exciting mystery but this ninth book in the series wasn't the best of the bunch so far.

This may not have been the best installment so far but it is the book that sees some new additions in the form of a couple of babies. It is also the book that finally confirms who I thought was the owner of the mysterious company that is buying up all of Stoneham. If that isn't enough there is finally some closure as far as Bob is concerned.

However on the other hand Tricia moans a lot. I was getting a little fed up of her going on and on about the bookstore and the insurance not paying up yet. It was pretty annoying. The mystery isn't very compelling and the author makes a dramatic ending that happens extremely quick and at the last moment.

My trip to Stoneham wasn't as nice as the previous visits but it was still worth reading. The series has always been good and of course there is always going to be one that doesn't make you go wow.